Alex Bowman Needs a Break

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Alex Bowman has done a solid if unspectacular job of filling in for the ailing Dale Earnhardt, Jr., for those races where the un-retired Jeff Gordon wasn’t available.

Assuming Earnhardt is over his concussion issues and comes back in 2017, as he says he will, Bowman will likely be looking for a job. He could use a late-season splash, and he could get that today: He’s on the pole for the Can-AM 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway with a speed of 140.521 mph for his first pole ever in his 80th start.